PICTURES: Rare and elusive Black fox spotted in Halifax AGAIN

One of the UK’s rarest animals - a black fox - has been spotted in Halifax AGAIN.

The stunning animal gets its unusual colouring from a super-rare genetic defect and has only been spotted a handful of times in recent history.

Robert Burn – aka ‘Black Fox Bob’ – of Boothtown, was thought to be the first person ever film a black fox when he shot a video of it from his kitchen window. The fox died last year and Mr Burn had the animal professionally stuffed and mounted.

But a flurry of recent sightings in and around Halifax has prompted speculation there is a new breeding pair carrying the recessive gene.

The most recent sighting was reported by Elisabeth Turner, 44.

She was flabbergasted when she spotted the elusive animal on her patio last year, initially thinking it could be a big cat.

“I did a double take,” she said. “I told my husband, but he didn’t believe me.”

Elisabeth googled the creature and found a website where people can post sightings. She found that while there has been very few sightings across the UK, Halifax has become a ‘hot spot’ for the creature to reveal itself.

Amazingly, Elisabeth and her husband spotted the fox again a couple of nights later, but until last week hadn’t seen it for around a year when it appeared three nights in a row.

“I was really excited to see it again because I wondered whether it had died or something,” Elisabeth said.

On the third night, she made sure she had her camera at the ready to snap the magestic creature.

She added: “It’s an unusual site, it feels really magical.”

Black foxes are the rarest animal in Britain, partly because they were extensively hunted for their fur in the past.

In Gaelic tradition, they are bringers of bad luck and in Medieval times, villages were afraid of seeing one, believing it was an omen of trouble or bad luck.

It has been speculated in the past that the seemingly high concentration of black foxes in Halifax could be down to a collection of pets released during WW2.

It has been rumoured a local man let them all go when he was called up to fight.